The Deadly Art of String Figures
After my conversation with Dokgo Rin during training, I drew some water from the nearby stream and returned. From Gyeong-a I heard that today's lunch would be vegetable fried rice with pickled cucumbers. It seemed she'd prepared it as a special treat because fresh vegetables were hard to come by on long journeys.
But despite her good intentions, not a single person in our group preferred vegetable fried rice to the meat version.
"Ugh, carrots."
"Just try picking them out. I dare you."
"......"
Under Gyeong-a's sharp glare, Dokgo Seok swallowed the carrot on his spoon without a word. Seeing this, Jegal Gyun—who was eating the fried rice—laughed as if it were the most amusing thing in the world.
"Hahaha! If anyone saw this, they'd think that maid was your wife!"
"Please don't say such terrifying things, sir. This fellow and I go way back as bad friends—or more like siblings. It's definitely not that kind of relationship. The mere thought of this guy as my wife is horrifying."
He spoke with a rare serious expression, so it seemed this kind of misunderstanding happened often.
Then Gyeong-a, who had been silently taking the one-sided scolding, flushed red and snapped back.
"I don't like married men like you either, you know?! And calling a perfectly respectable unmarried woman 'horrifying'—are you trying to ruin someone's marriage prospects?!"
"To still call yourself a 'perfectly respectable unmarried woman' when you're already well past twenty..."
"Shut up!"
Gyeong-a chased after Dokgo Seok, who had fled with his bowl. Well, by the standards of this era, a woman over twenty was inevitably treated as an old maid. Most people married in their teens, after all.
After the reasonably tasty lunch ended, Rin and I told the others we'd be back after stepping away for a bit. We moved beneath a zelkova tree a short distance from the group and began our first proper training session.
"The martial art I'm going to teach you now, Chilbok, is the Mist Spirit Thread. It uses steel wires called gangsa."
Dokgo Rin showed me the Thousand Silk she had bought at the fabric shop before.
"But if you start training with real steel wire right away, you could get seriously hurt. So for the time being, you'll learn the basic techniques of the Mist Spirit Thread using this Thousand Silk."
"Yes, understood."
"Before we begin the real training, I have one question. What do you think of when you hear the word 'hidden weapon,' Chilbok?"
"Hidden weapons?"
"Yes. Just say whatever comes to mind."
It was a sudden question, but I thought for a moment before answering.
"Weapons that assassins use, literally speaking?"
"Hmm. Not my favorite answer, but it's not entirely wrong."
Dokgo Rin pulled out a long strand of Thousand Silk from the spool as she spoke.
"In my opinion, a hidden weapon is something designed to kill a person even with a thread of merely this length. They're easier to conceal than ordinary weapons, and even the elderly, women, or children can handle them with ease."
"That's why you have to be extra careful. Let your guard down even slightly, and it could hurt not only your opponent but yourself as well."
"......"
The moment I heard those words, I flinched without realizing it. I'd been ignorantly excited about learning martial arts at first, but the realization that I was about to learn a technique that could actually kill people made it impossible to stay purely happy.
Noticing my stiffened expression, Dokgo Rin wound the Thousand Silk back onto the spool and continued.
"Of course, learning hidden weapon techniques doesn't mean you'll automatically use them to kill people. The reason I'm teaching you the Mist Spirit Thread is so you can use it as self-defense in case of unforeseen situations. However, just as a person holding a sword must know they can kill someone with it at any time, I believe a person who uses hidden weapons must also understand that they can kill someone with them at any moment."
"...I think I roughly understand what you're trying to say, miss."
"That's a relief, then."
Dokgo Rin handed me the spool of Thousand Silk she had been holding.
"From now on, this belongs to you, Chilbok. Keep it on your person at all times—even when sleeping or washing."
"Then what will you use, miss?"
"I'm fine without one. I'm learning other martial arts as well."
I nodded, holding the Thousand Silk, and asked Dokgo Rin.
"So what should I do now?"
"To a martial artist, a weapon is an extension of their body. Therefore, the most important thing is to practice repeatedly until you can wield it as naturally as your own limbs."
Having explained this, Dokgo Rin spoke with a serious expression.
"So from now on, let's keep practicing string figures."
The special training method Dokgo Rin proposed was cat's cradle. Honestly, when I first heard it, I thought she was joking. After declaring with such a solemn face that she would teach me assassination techniques, if the actual training method turned out to be string figures, anyone would assume it was a prank.
But Dokgo Rin's expression was utterly serious, and since I knew she wasn't the type to joke about something like this, I had no choice but to follow her instructions obediently. And this was the result.
"Pentagram."
Following the prompt Dokgo Rin gave, I created a five-pointed star with the string looped around my hands.
"Three-story pagoda."
This time the difficulty rose to a tower shape. Without rushing, I calmly threaded the string between my fingers and formed the three-tiered pagoda she had called for.
"Staircase."
The difficulty increased even further. If I failed here, I would have to start over from the beginning. I gritted my teeth and created the staircase shape she requested.
"Forbidden City."
I immediately began unraveling the string from my hands to form the Forbidden City shape, but my mind went completely blank. The Forbidden City? How was I supposed to make that with string?
"Wrong."
If your hands stopped, it was over. Since I couldn't create the Forbidden City shape within the given time, Dokgo Rin mercilessly declared failure. At the same time, the tension drained away and I let out a deep sigh.
"Miss, isn't the Forbidden City kind of cheating?"
"Why do you think it's cheating?"
"I mean, how are you supposed to make a Forbidden City out of string?"
After four days of special training I could manage most ordinary shapes, but overly complex forms were still difficult.
"I can do it, though?"
With a casual face, Dokgo Rin took the Thousand Silk from my hands and instantly created a palace shape, showing me it was possible. When she demonstrated it right in front of me, insisting it was impossible would only make me look pathetic. So instead of arguing, I asked her to show me how.
"There are no shortcuts in cat's cradle. You need to practice countless times before you can create the desired shape whenever you want."
As she spoke, Dokgo Rin unraveled the string on her hand and slowly demonstrated the process of forming the Forbidden City once more.
"You're not planning to tell an enemy during a fight that the string got tangled and ask them to wait a moment, are you?"
It was an irrefutable point, so I let out a small sigh and nodded.
"...Alright. Let's take a short break before continuing."
Eventually, when I was completely exhausted and threw in the towel, Dokgo Rin seemed to decide that teaching any more today would be difficult. She said she understood and unraveled the Thousand Silk from her hands.
When we first started this training, I'd imagined the simple cat's cradle games from elementary school upon hearing the words "string figures." In reality, the difficulty was on a completely different level, and I couldn't help being shocked.
The string figures Dokgo Rin spoke of involved expressing her given themes with string in a very short amount of time. Naturally it required exceptional reflexes, and even the slightest mistake would cause the Thousand Silk on my hands to unravel, leading to repeated frustration.
When I openly showed my dejected face, Dokgo Rin glanced at me cautiously and asked.
"Chilbok, does it seem like I'm teaching this too harshly?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I've never learned martial arts from anyone else, so I have nothing to compare it to."
"If you feel it's too difficult, I'll come up with a different training method starting tomorrow."
"I appreciate the thought, but it's fine."
"Why?"
"If I can't overcome even a trial of this level, I'll probably end up whining every time I learn new martial arts in the future."
When I said this and renewed my determination, Dokgo Rin stared at me intently from the side.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing. I just feel like I've fallen for you all over again, Chilbok."
"...Let's just get back to training."
"Are you embarrassed?"
"It's not that."
"Aww~ You totally are~"
Dokgo Rin poked my side playfully with a mischievous expression. But since I didn't want to acknowledge her words, I pretended not to hear and wrapped the Thousand Silk around my hands once more.
Quite a lot of time had passed since we left Hanzhong.
"It seems like you two have gotten considerably closer lately."
While traveling along the long stretch of road, Dokgo Seok—who was riding ahead—brought up the topic first.
Dokgo Rin, holding the horse's reins in my stead since I didn't know how to ride, answered in a curt voice.
"Is there a problem?"
"There's a saying that boys and girls shouldn't sit together after the age of seven. Even though Chilbok is young, I wonder if the two of you aren't getting a bit too close."
"If that's what you're worried about, it's fine. I'm planning to marry Chilbok anyway."
Dokgo Seok chuckled and said.
"Rin, marriage isn't something that can happen just because you want it to. Sometimes the spouse changes depending on family circumstances or political interests."
"Didn't you have a love marriage yourself, Second Brother?"
"In my case, unlike my older brother who will inherit the position of family head, as the second son I don't carry much responsibility, so I was free to choose my bride as I wished. But from what I can see, it won't be the same for you."
Dokgo Seok glanced at my face as he spoke.
"If the two of you wanted to marry, do you think Father would smile and give his blessing?"
"You only know if it's long or short after you compare them."
"Sometimes you can tell without needing to compare at all."
Looking at me with those words, Dokgo Seok spoke in a tone as if admonishing me.
"Chilbok, I'm sure you understand what I mean."
I couldn't deny his words, so I nodded and replied, "I understand, young master."